Schoolgirl 'gang-raped' in Chandpur on way from school: Police

A 10th grader has allegedly been gang-raped by three youths on her way from school at a village of Faridganj upazila in Chandpur District, according to a complaint received by police, reports UNB.

According to the girl’s family, the incident occurred on Saturday when the girl was returning home from school at noon. On the way, “the miscreants picked the girl and, took her to Lipi Begum's house, where they raped her hands tied and mouth covered with a cloth. They also recorded the video of the alleged crime.

The survivor alleged that Lipi Begum, 32, wife of Farooq of the same village, had assisted in it.

The alleged rapists are- Shimul, 24, son of Harun Mizi of Saisanga village of the upazila, Ijaz Hossain, 23, son of Bahar Patwari of Maizer Bari in Noapara village and Sabbir Hossain, 24, of Ashta village.

They threatened to spread the video on the internet if the girl disclosed the matter to anyone.

"The victim filed a complaint on Sunday afternoon in connection with the incident and efforts were being made to arrest the accused”, said Mohammad Shahid Hossain, officer-in-charge of Faridganj police station.

Sexual assaults on women continue unabated in Bangladesh, despite the government introduced death penalty for rapes in 2020.

Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) data shows that 1,018 children were raped in 2020 alone, but only 683 police cases had been filed. Also, 116 survivors were six years old or below.

Overall, 1,627 rape cases were reported in 2020 and 53 of the women were killed by the perpetrators while 14 took their own lives, as per the data.

However, ASK's data is just the tip of the iceberg, according to aid agencies, who report that most women are too afraid to report rape.